Dargoth Power attacked the first giant cockroach with his magic bastard sword. The fighter’s blow landed dealing 19 damage to the monster and he cleaved the adjacent large cockroach for 18 damage killing it. Banjo moved to get a better shot and cast a Scorching Ray at the same giant cockroach. The spell stuck the mark dealing 12 damage and killed the target. Kirlic stepped back to remove himself from flanking. The ranger hit the same one as last time with a two-handed power attack for his magic flail dealing 11 damage which killed his foe.

The swarm of cockroaches surged across the chamber to cover both Kirlic and N’Kima. The biting menaces dealt 2 damage to each. Thurstan prepared and threw a burning flask of oil at the swarm. The combination of the old and new fire dealt 10 damage but also splashed Kirlic and N’Kima for 1 damage each.

Turok, the wolverine, continued his assault on the large cockroach to the east. The druid struck with a Power Attack from his bite and claws dealing a total of 32 damage and killed his foe. The second giant cockroach attacked Dargoth but missed the fighter with its bite. N’Kima moved out of the swarm. The ape then unleashed a Power Attack with his bite and fists. All landed dealing 27 damage and killed the bug.

Mr. Wolfe joined Clint attacking the giant bug with its bite. The attack missed. Clint swung his magic longsword and scored a hit dealing 16 damage.

As they entered the chamber, the cockroaches gave off a tremendous stench. As a result Banjo, Clint, Kirlic and Mr. Wolfe all became Sickened.

Dargoth moved and power attacked the first giant cockroach with his magic bastard sword. The fighter’s blow landed dealing 18 damage to the monster and he cleaved the adjacent large cockroach for 17 damage as well. Banjo moved to get a better shot and cast a Scorching Ray at the same giant cockroach. The spell stuck the mark dealing 17 damage. Kirlic moved to the west to faceoff with two large cockroaches. The ranger hit one with a two-handed power attack for his magic flail dealing 7 damage.

The first giant cockroach attempted to bite Dargoth but missed the fighter. A swarm of cockroaches surged across the chamber to cover both Banjo and Clint. The biting menaces dealt 1 damage to Banjo and 6 damage to Clint. Thurstan prepared and threw a burning flask of oil at the swarm. The fire dealt 6 damage but also splashed Banjo and Clint for 1 damage each.

Turok, still in wolverine form, moved to the west to engage the large cockroach there. The druid struck a blow with his claw dealing 8 damage. The second giant cockroach moved to flank Dargoth but missed the fighter with its bite. N’Kima moved to the west to help Kirlic. The ape swiped at both bugs with his claw. He hit both dealing 12 damage to each. The angered bug tried to take out its frustration by attacking Kirlic but missed with its bite.

Mr. Wolfe joined Turok attacking the bug with its bite. The attack dealt 9 damage but was not able to trip the wiggling monster. The large cockroach also tried to bite Dargoth but it too missed its target. Clint left the swarm and flanked the giant cockroach behind Dargoth. The rouge swung his magic longsword and scored a hit dealing 22 damage. The large cockroach to the east tried to bite Turok and the last one to the west tried to bite Kirlic. Both monsters missed.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

An offensive odor, musty and sickening, suddenly intensifies to a nauseating level. A vibrating thrum, as if thousands of minuscule feet are rustling on stone, comes to a crescendo as every one of the open warren holes spews a bristling swarm of black cockroaches. Roaches quickly cover the floor. Giant cockroaches, hissing and eager to feed follow their little cousins from the warrens.

Roll initiative. Starting positions for Turn 6 are displayed on the Combat Map.

Thurstan, still in cloud form, investigated the small tunnels. The cleric determined that they were cramped, winding and filled with cockroaches. The discovered the desiccated bodies of three drow and the signs of some likely treasure nearest the passage to the south. Thurstan returned to the earth node and reported his findings.

Any spellcaster standing upon the floor of the earth node could feel its power. Spells cast in this place would have more power. It was obvious that the power of this place had been tapped recently, within the last week. Banjo and Turok consulted and determined, while Thurstan was exploring the tunnels, that the node could be harnessed to transport a caster and his willing allies to another place connected to this node. The only drawback was that it required attunement to the node and a use of a spell slot for the day. A caster wanting to harness the power needed to rest 8 hours in contact with the floor of this powerful place.

The group decided to see if they could benefit from the misfortune of others before trying to rest. Turok changed shape into a wolverine and began to wiggle through the southern tunnel in search of clues and treasure. He quickly returned to the node followed by a rumble and a stench.

Friday, January 21, 2011

The hollow’s smooth floor is roughly circular. The air here is alive with energy and thick with the smell of developing lightning. Small hole puncture the walls near the floor, opening into a dozen small tunnels that run off into lightlessness. Dull dust is thickly heaped around the edges, thickest near the holes.

The party performed a thorough search of the terrace. Thurstan, Turok and Dargoth examined the bodies and determined that one had been turned to stone and the other had been killed by arrows and snake bites to the face.

Banjo surmised that the party had discovered an earth node, a pocket of naturally occurring magical power. He will need more time to determine if and how to tap it.

Mr. Wolfe found a faint set of tracks left by a medium-sized humanoid wearing boots. The tracks lead to the edge of the terrace and it appeared that the creature walked off the edge.

Clint deciphered the note that the Halfling carried. It was written in a language that none of the party could read. It translated as:

Fadheela,

I have been delayed. My servants carry the king's bones and all of the items of his champions that I could find. Merthύvial I cannot locate. I shall spend a bit more time trying to find it, but I am sending these on so our rendezvous is not compromised. Please give the Vanguard my regards. I shall be along shortly.

- Xeron

The descent to the floor of the earth node was approximately 150 feet. Turok and N’Kima took the lead. Once the group signaled that they had reached the bottom, Thurstan unfastened the grappling hook and let the rope fall to the bottom. The cleric cast Gaseous Form upon himself and descended the distance as a cloud.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The descending passage leads about 1,000 feet deeper into the earth before the roughly hewn tunnel widens to a terrace, at least 20 feet wide and long, with a ceiling rising 8 or 10 feet. The porch has no far wall, instead opening into a great, echoing hollow. This close to the cavernous rift, the air seems charged as if a great storm is imminent. The walls of the opening ascend and descend, moving closer together as they rise into darkness, forming a wider space as the go downward. Two humanoid form lie unmoving near where the terrace drops off into the hollow.

One of the corpses is a male Halfling in violet robes. The other is a toppled statue of a wide-eyed female goblin.

Clint and Dargoth believe that the tunnel was dug in the style of an exploratory shaft used to locate valuable minerals.

Clint and Kirlic decided it is prudent to check the back trail before proceeding deeper. The tunnel lead upward to the north about 1,000 feet before ending in a stone cap. The cap concealed an exit to the surface.

N’Kima sniffed the tunnel and indicated a scent trail leading down. With no solid leads behind them, the party traveled down the tunnel.

I have updated the Character Summary to reflect your 5th level characters and started a new Map for this adventure. Both are linked to the blog page.

I have also linked all of the character sheets to the character names. For those characters to which I had origins, I have also provided links. If anyone else would like to provide an origin, I will gladly post one for you. Just send it to me.

Note: While compiling the Character Summary, I noticed that several folks changes their traits with this version of the character sheet. I assume that they are all set now and will not change in the future.

Lightless space gives way to your illumination, revealing a restricted, steeply sloping tunnel that is maybe 5 feet wide and 7 feet tall. Posts of green wood hold up the walls. The air is damp, stinking of rot. If the slope holds, the tunnel likely surfaces hundreds of yards to the north, though how much farther it penetrates to the south is lost in the darkness.

Based upon evidence, the tunnel appears to have been rapidly and recently dug by someone using picks and magic. The passage is set at approximately a 45 degree angle.

What do you do next? You can explore up the tunnel or down the tunnel.

The rope tied to the king’s sarcophagus is still dangling down the hole. Beyond the hole is a dark verticle shaft.

The hole in the floor is currently large enough for a small-sized creature to traverse. It could be made bigger with manual labor or the appropriate magic. It will need to be made at least large enough for a medium creture to pass to allow the heavily armored members of the party and N'Kima to squeeze past. The hole appears to have been made by the pick work of the hobgoblin.

While discussing your options of what to do, Thurstan recalls that Leera had mentioned that Xeron’s party also contained a goblin and a halfling. Neither were encountered in your previous explorations.

Dark gray is the floor.
Textured gray is floor covered in heavy rubble.
Line-filled squares are stairs going down.
White rectangle with ”S” is a secret door.
Blue stars are statues.
Light gray rectangles are open sarcophagi.
Black oval is a hole in the floor.

After a full day has passed and the party has recovered from their trials, the group is invited to join Ian Turbrand at the Coronet and Cabbage. When they arrive the innkeeper thanks them again for their assistance and makes them a new offer. Disturbed by the news that the king's bones have been stolen, Turbrand offers to pay an additional 500 GP each to recover the stolen bones. This is above what he has already paid for previous services. He explains that the bones are part of an ancient prophesy and are very important. He does not care about the magic items that were also stolen.

This adventure is concluding. We just have some mop up in town and shopping to do.

Once you reach the surface, Leera bids you farewell and heads out on her own. Upon return to town, you are paid your 250 GP reward as promised. You receive a hero's welcome.

In case I was too subtle, it is time to level up to 5th. You can shop in Kingsholm but please remember that you are limited to items costing 600 GP or less.

Please send be a copy of both the .por and .pdf versions of your characters. Once I have them, I will post them to the site. (I already have Kirlic and I am sending Turok to Hans today.) I will update the character summary based upon the new sheets.

Please divide the treasure. I have not added the last batch to the Character Summary. Please tell me what is sold and if kept, who is carrying it. Add items to your character sheets. We will start the next adventure with a clean treasure list.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Assuming that you want to descend, with some time and effort the hole can be made bigger. Provisions will also need to be made to lower the wolf.

You will likely want to rest and recover before moving on. Based upon recent evidence, it seems likely that many of the magics in place around the tomb are now released. It should not be too difficult to exit back to the surface.

Leera is anxious to leave this place and you have to let the townsfolk know what has happened. You also have a bunch of loot that you might want to unload and I am sure some equipment needs to be replenished.

(There is also the matter of leveling up to 5th and meeting your new companion, Turok ….)

Thurstan channels positive energy healing 7 damage from the wounded. The effects of the Ray of Enfeeblement wear off of Dargoth returning him to full strength.

On the bodies of Xeron and the hobgoblin, the party finds the following:

2 Potions of Cure Moderate Wounds (2d8+3)

Wand of Magic Missiles (CL 3rd; 13 charges)

+1 spear

+1 ring of protection

Masterwork half-plate

Masterwork greataxe

3 throwing axes

pickaxe

Scribe’s kit

Map of the tomb complex

4 pearls (100GP each)

47 GP

Identification of the Betrayer’s swords reveal them to be a +1 bastard sword and a +1 short sword.

Examination of the King’s sword, Merthύvial, reveal that it is +1 adamantine longsword. When it is unsheathed it glows with the light equal to a torch.

Leera advises that the sword could be much more than it appears. She goes on to explain.

It is said that dwarves forged Merthύvial in the heat of a volcano, its adamantine blade proved devastating against marauding cave trolls and mountain orcs. The weapon was one of many, but it earned distinction when its wielder saved the life of the dwarf king by sundering a stone giant’s weapon and spearing the creature on the point of the sword. The king ennobled the warrior, and the warrior, in turn, presented Merthύvial to his lord in tribute.

(In game terms, this is a Weapon of Legacy. It is not quite an artifact but it is more than a normal magic item. By learning more about the items history and completing rituals, a character can bond with the weapon. This will grant greater benefits and a few drawbacks.

Based upon the information that Leera was able to provide, if someone wants to bond to the weapon, they must complete the ritual of King’s Gift.

You must have the weapon passed onto you willingly by its rightful owner or the owner’s rightful heirs. If no heir live, you must perform an attunement ritual with Merthύvial, marking you as the weapon’s new owner.

The wielder must be any non-evil alignment other than chaotic neutral, have a base attack bonus of at least +3 and two or more ranks in Diplomacy. It will cost 2,500 GP to complete the ritual. The character will receive a bonus feat of Least Legacy (Merthύvial ) This will open up access to the abilities for levels 5-9. If someone is interested, I can supply the rest of the game details. )

A careful search of the room reveals that all of the sarcophagi have been looted. The first three on the south wall contain only bones. The one in the southeast corner is empty and never appears to have had an occupant. Rather than the image of a person, the lid contains a map of an ancient kingdom. This was presumably to symbolize the death of his kingdom. The last, the king’s, is empty

The hole in the floor is currently about 2 ½ feet square. At current size it is only big enough for a small-sized creature to squeeze through. A knotted rope is attached to the king’s sarcophagus and dangles in the hole. The hole opens into a dark tunnel leading deeper ....

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Once all the enemies were dead, a calm fell over the tomb. Banjo took 4 more damage as the Acid Arrow ran its course. After that, the party was able to take a breath in relief but before they could do anything further, the features of the statues changed.

All four statues look at you. The statue of the king looks up, and a translucent apparition steps forward. He speaks in a strong but somehow distant voice, smiling warmly.

"Thank you, my friends. It is good to see that heroism remains in this world. My time to return is not now, but it might be soon."

"In my time it was prophesied that my rule would end prematurely, but that I would return to aid the world in its most dire struggle. I sense that time coming, but my bones have been stolen, and if they are not recovered, I do not know if the prophecy can be fulfilled."

"My name is Theron, but that is no matter, for my time is past. The name you need to know is Sertrous. I heard that Scundrel" - the king gestures toward the body of Xeron - "refer to something called Vanguard of Sertrous, and while I do not know who or what the Vanguard of Sertrous is, I know that it is evil. It must not triumph!"

"The villains stole my bones, and the weapons of my wife and my champions! Those arms are very powerful and should not be used in the service of evil. Still, they did not get this ...."

King Theron reaches down into a sarchophagus and through its bottom. When his hand emerges, it holds a black longsword that glows with a silvery light.

"This weapon, Merthύvial," he says, "once helped me save a kingdom. May it aid you in your heroics and serve as thanks from a forgotten king."

After handing you the sword, the apparition disappears, as do the lifelike images on the other statues. The quiet of stone and death prevades the area, the light of the magic blade shining brightly.

Dargoth attacked the nagatha with a power attack from his magic bastard sword. The devestating blow struck the monster dealing 29 damage and killed it.

Kirlic moved across the room to a safer distance drawing his longbow in route. The ranger turned and fired an arrow at the hobgoblin. The arrow was true, striking for 7 damage.

Xeron again attempted to cast a spell at Banjo, casting on the defensive to avoid an attack from Thurstan. Banjo was still ready to try and disrupt the caster’s spell using his longbow. This time the arrow missed its target. The same could not be said of Xeron’s Acid Arrow. The spell struck Banjo dealing 5 damage.

Clint attacked the hobgoblin with his longbow. The arrow flew true and hit the monster for 6 damage. Mr. Wolfe attacked the hobgoblin with its bite for 7 damage which killed the monster. Thurstan attacked Xeron with his magic rapier. The blow landed dealing 9 damage which was enough to dispatch the grave robbing sorcerer.

Dargoth attacked the nagatha with a power attack from his magic bastard sword. The blow missed the monster. Kirlic attacked the nagatha with his curved blade dealing 14 damage as he sliced the monster.

Xeron took a step backward and attempted to cast a spell at Banjo. Banjo was ready to try and disrupt the caster’s spell. This time he used his longbow. The arrow struck its target dealing 9 damage and disrupting Xeron’s Acid Arrow. The nagatha attacked Kirlic with both of its claws and its bite. Once claw missed but the other struck a telling blow for 15 damage and the bite hit for an additional 5 damage. Luckily the fighter avoided the effects of the venomous bite and maintained his feet despite how close to death he really was.

Clint attacked the nagatha with his longbow. The arrow flew true and hit the monster for 3 damage. Mr. Wolfe attacked the hobgoblin for 6 damage. Thurstan moved forward and attacked Xeron with his magic rapier. The blow landed dealing 11 damage. Leera cast a Daze spell at Xeron. The spell failed to get past his spell resistance.

The hobgoblin stood but in doing so took attacks of opportunity from Mr. Wolfe and Thurstan. The wolf hit with its bite for 7 damage and Thurstan poked it with his rapier for 11 damage. The monster power attacked Thurstan with his greataxe but the blow missed the cleric.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Start round 4 of combat. Starting positions for Turn 135 are displayed on the Combat Map.

Conditions:

Xeron, Nagatha and Hobgoblin: Deafened - –4 penalty on initiative and has a 20% chance to miscast and lose any spell with a verbal component.

Hobgoblin: Prone - A prone attacker has a –4 penalty on melee attack rolls and cannot use a ranged weapon (except for a crossbow). A prone defender gains a +4 bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks, but takes a –4 penalty to AC against melee attacks.

Dargoth attacked the nagatha with a power attack from his magic bastard sword. The blow landed dealing 13 damage to the monster. Kirlic moved to gain flanking with Dargoth on the nagatha. The ranger attacked the nagatha with his curved blade dealing 9 damage as he sliced the monster.

Xeron stood up and was immediately attacked by Mr. Wolfe. The bite caused 7 damage to the caster. This time the wolf was unable to trip his target. Xeron attempted to cast a spell at Dargoth. This was the chance Banjo had been waiting for. The sorcerer cast his Magic Missile at Xeron. The spell struck its target but failed to penetrate his spell resistance. Overcoming his temporary deafness, Xeron unleashed his Ray of Enfeeblement at Dargoth. The ray struck the fighter and delivered a -7 STR penalty as the fighter failed his Fort save.

The nagatha attacked Kirlic with both of its claws and its bite. Both sets of claws struck dealing 10 damage but the bite missed. Clint attacked the nagatha with his longbow. The arrow flew true and hit the monster for 9 damage. Thurstan waited for Mr. Wolfe to move so that he might attack Xeron. Mr. Wolfe stepped to the space left by Kirlic and attacked the hobgoblin for 4 damage and sent the monster to the ground. Thurstan moved forward and attacked Xeron with his magic rapier. The blow landed dealing 10 damage.

Leera cast a Daze spell on the hobgoblin. The weak-minded monster failed his Will save and remained motionless upon the ground.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

As you can see we are off and running with the new year. We finished up last year strong and are off to a good start so far in this year. Keep up the good work with posting your turns. I do not expect to post every day but I would still like to commit to posting 3 turns a week. If time permits I will post bonus turns. Player participation is key to avoiding the dead time we had last year in late January through late March. Your interest keeps your fellow players and me focused.

As I have said previously, we are nearing the end of our current adventure. Please start planning what you will do when you level up to 5th. That will happen once the adventure concludes. There will be some loose ends to tie up and some bookkeeping at the end of the adventure which will take some time and your participation. You will have the opportunity to shop but please remember that Kingsholm is a small town. The town has about a 600 GP purchase limit. The next adventure will offer more opportunities to shop but not immediately out of the gate.

Other items of note:

- Hans will be joining our game at the start of the next adventure. I do not know what he is planning to play, and I am not sure that he is 100% decided, so now is your chance to try and sway him.
- The NPC Leera will be leaving the party. Once you return to the surface, she will depart.

I will start the next adventure once I have the updated characters from the players. (Hans - if you do not have the Hero Labs software, either one of the other players or I will add it to the program and post it to the website. We will also send you a PDF.)

I hope that everyone has liked the recent changes I have made to the blog. I have tried to incorporate as many of your suggestions as I can. I cannot say that I will be able or willing to address every concern but please keep your suggestions coming.

Start round 3 of combat. Starting positions for Turn 134 are displayed on the Combat Map.

Conditions:

Xeron, Nagatha and Hobgoblin: Deafened - –4 penalty on initiative and has a 20% chance to miscast and lose any spell with a verbal component.

Xeron: Prone - A prone attacker has a –4 penalty on melee attack rolls and cannot use a ranged weapon (except for a crossbow). A prone defender gains a +4 bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks, but takes a –4 penalty to AC against melee attacks.

Dargoth attacked the nagatha with a power attack from his magic bastard sword. The blow landed dealing 14 damage to the monster. Kirlic moved into the heart of the enemy maneuvering between the nagatha and the hobgoblin. The ranger attacked the hobgoblin with his curved blade dealing 6 damage as he sliced the monster.

Xeron attempted to Cause Fear on Kirlic but the ranger was up to the test, making his Will save. The nagatha attacked Kirlic with both of its claws and its bite. Both sets of claws struck dealing 17 damage but the bite missed.

Clint maneuvered to the top of the room and attacked the nagatha with his longbow. The arrow flew true and hit the monster for 5 damage. Thurstan took a 5-foot step to get a better line on Xeron. The cleric unleashed a lightning arc at the villain. Thespell-like ability struck its mark but did not penetrate the enemy’s spell resistance. Mr. Wolfe bit Xeron for 6 damage and sent the grave robber to the ground. Banjo held his action waiting to cast a Magic Missile at Xeron when next he tried to cast a spell. Leera moved behind Kirlic and cast her last Cure Light Wounds on the ranger healing 6 damage.

The hobgoblin attacked Mr. Wolfe with a power attack from his greataxe. The attack again missed the wolf.

Xeron started the conflict by throwing a figurine of a two-armed serpent. The figurine smashed upon the floor as in front of Clint as the villain moved to cover between two sarcophagi. From the figurine, a monster appeared and attacked the rogue. The nagatha attacked with both of its claws and its bite. Both sets of claws struck Clint dealing 18 damage but the bite missed.

Dargoth moved forward and attacked the monster fighting Clint. The fighter struck the nagatha with a power attack from his new magic bastard sword. The blow landed dealing 18 damage to the monster. Kirlic entered the tomb and tossed a thunderstone into the midst of the enemy. The boom deafened all three opponents. Clint took a 5-foot step behind the fighter and attacked Xeron with his longbow. The arrow flew true and hit the grave robber for 7 damage.

Thurstan, his wolf and Leera all moved into the room maneuvering into tactical positions. Banjo maneuvered toward the northwest corner and cast a Magic Missile targeting Xeron. The spell hit and surpassed the caster’s magic resistance dealing 7 damage.

The hobgoblin stepped in front of Xeron and attacked Mr. Wolfe with a power attack from his greataxe. The attack missed the wolf.